When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me".... Erma Bombeck

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Ella and Mya's first day of school... Looks like the teacher is in for lots of trouble... LOL

How exciting is the first day of school... I remember when Kris, my oldest was ready to go to school. Mommy was not ready to see him go. He was so small and scared and had never been out of my sight for any length of time. I cried, he cried... everyone was crying... I couldn't wait to get back to the school to pick him up and when I did... he didn't want to come home. When Scot was ready for school, I couldn't wait to get him out the door. I was up at 5 am I was soooo excited to see him out of my hair for a few hours every other day... no crying then.. he didn't cry either.. probably glad to see the end of me too! And by the time Susan went to school... I had my day planned and I was ready for freedom.

Today... my two little granddaughters headed to school for an hour to meet the teacher and find out where to put their indoor shoes. Ella is only 3... she will be 4 in November and Mya is only 4... she will be 5 in March, but they both fit into this years school age so they are off to the same school, same teacher, same classroom. After the introduction was over, I offered a play day at my house and everyone... including mommy's and daddy's jumped at the invitation... The girls are having fun playing house and I actually have a few moments to write my blog... It really tugged at my heart to see those little girls going to school... but then I am not with them everyday, and it was only an hour and well... no tears today! I will be anxious to hear how things go next week when mommy and daddy's leave and Oma is safe at home tucked behind her sewing machine.

Notion Nannys Fabulous tote... you can find a free pattern for this tote on my web page.

I have done some sewing this week. I finished another tote. I used 5" nickel squares of batik and quilted them using a double needle and gold thread to add some texture to the patches... didn't work out quite like I hoped because the lines of sewing didn't meet up when I put the pieces together...but, hopefully the next one, because, you know, there will be more, will turn out better.

This time I put a store bought handle on it and I wasn't pleased with it either. I love the handle but next time I will find a handle that is almost the same size as the top.. the ones I used were a little, little.

And I made the bag 5 nickles high, next time I will only make it 4 nickels high... its a little tall. Other than that... it is wonderful...LOL!

I also worked on the two challenges that are due to be done this month.... One, my circle challenge is finished, just needs to be quilted and the other, Aimee's challenge... well its still a work in progress. I couldn't take pictures and share with you because it would have spoiled the challenge, but I wanted to show you something so I took a portion of the circle challenge to show you and blurred Aimee's so you can get a small taste of what I have been working on.

The other day, I was sewing on my new Bernina 830 and it started making this awful noise. I haven't spent two much time on it since I got it so I wasn't really sure what was going on... There is a reminder for oiling and cleaning so I didn't think it needed either.. should have known better. I cleaned and oiled my baby and the noise disappeared and all is well again. I am going back to my old philosophy and oiling and cleaning on a 5 bobbin schedule... although with this machine, I probably will only do a 3 bobbin schedule because the bobbins are so big.

So here's a big reminder for all of you... Wind 5 bobbins. When those bobbins are empty, you should change your needle, clean all the dust and lint off the outside and the inside of your machine and if needed oil your machine lightly.

I have a system for my machine maintenance. I usually like to start winding the bobbins... (don't forget to slow your speed down when you wind your bobbins so they wind nicely) and while the 1st one is winding you can dust the top and wipe any dirt off your machine.

Then when the 2nd one is winding you can change your needle ( remember, not all needle brands are good for your machine. Make sure you stick with the brand that your machine works best with) and clean under the throat plate.

While the 3rd one is winding you can clean and oil (if necessary) your bobbin case area.

While the 4th one is winding you can re-thread your machine and put a new full bobbin in and when the 5th one is winding you can admire your like brand new sewing machine.

You will be surprised how well your machine sews all the time and how great it feels when you take your machine for it's yearly maintenance and the maintenance person commends you on your care of your machine.

I won't ever wait for my machine to tell me when to oil it again... I plan to stick to my own maintenance plan... you should too!!

2 comments:

So do you love your 830? I just got a 440QE, and my husband keeps saying I should have gone for the 830. (I think that is so he doesn't feel guilty about his hobby expenses.) I don't know that I need that much machine. It seems pretty intimidating.

I love my 830... it was the best purchase I ever made... there are so many great features on it and everything is user friendly.... I loved the 440 too... but once I got my 830 there is no machine that can compare...